Supporters of the national campaign Stop the Killing, Enforce the Law ask Peter MacKay to recommit to the spirit of a law he passionately
endorsed a decade ago.

PICTOU COUNTY, N.S., March 10, 2014 /CNW/ - After meeting with Pictou
County Council on Monday, representatives of the United Steelworkers
(USW) and members of the Westray Families' Group will pay a special
visit Tuesday to the office of Central Nova MP and Canada'sJustice
Minister, Hon. Peter MacKay, to seek his recommitment to the spirit of
a law he so passionately endorsed a decade ago.

WHO:

United Steelworkers and Westray Families

WHAT:

Gathering at Hon. Peter MacKay's office

WHERE:

980 East River Road, New Glasgow

WHEN:

10 a.m., Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Known as the Westray Law, amendments to the Criminal Code were passed
unanimously in the House of Commons in 2003, with the support and
leadership of then-opposition MP MacKay. The Westray amendments hold
corporations, their directors and executives criminally accountable for
workplace deaths. The move was seen as a victory for workers. It was
also a rare unified response to the horrific Westray coalmine explosion
in Nova Scotia that killed 26 miners on May 9, 1992.

However, in the decade since, more than 9,000 Canadians have been killed
on the job, yet not one corporate executive has faced a single day in
jail.

The USW has launched a national campaign asking provincial
attorneys-general to take steps to enforce the Westray Law. Supporters
want to know where Mr. MacKay stands as Canada's chief lawmaker.

"I have personally been in touch with both his Ottawa office and his
office here in Pictou County," said USW National Director Ken Neumann.
"We understand that he is a busy cabinet minister, but his voice now is
important to workers, and the thousands of Canadian families who have
not received the kind of justice that the Westray amendments promised.
It would mean so much."